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Post by Jeremy on Apr 21, 2017 6:25:02 GMT -8
The finale of 13 Reasons Why is fantastic. One of the best episodes of any Netflix show I've ever seen. I just wish the season leading up to it had been constructed better.
Oh, there were plenty of great moments along the way, and some solid character drama throughout. But there was not nearly enough story to fill 13 hours, titular symmetry be damned.
Case in point: The mountain-climbing episode was clearly designed as a pivotal dramatic moment for Clay. But given its place in the season, it just feels like a slog - the show essentially hits "pause" for an entire hour.
But despite the issues, I still liked a great deal of this show. It isn't on the level of My So-Called Life, but it's a fascinating examination of teen angst and insecurity, bolstered by great performances from Dylan Minette and newcomer Katherine Langford. And most episodes featured enough high points to compensate for the lows.
Despite the obvious setup for a second season, I think I'm good with what we got here. It was well-acted, well-directed, and (usually) well-written. A solid B-plus overall.
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Post by Dannflor on Apr 22, 2017 14:50:48 GMT -8
So I watched the newest Doctor Who just now. "The Pilot" (ironic title for a show in its thirty-sixth season) is probably the best of Steven Moffat's season premieres, or at the very least it's the least cluttered. Pearl Mackie is a real cutie, so much so that after suffering through the continuity-laden slog of "The Magician's Apprentice" (which was so uuugh that I just nope'd out on the rest of the season, even though the last couple episodes are supposed to be really good) I think I might stick around for Series 10. Will make a thread if anyone else has thoughts. Oh man it really is worth it to go back through Series 9. In my opinion it's probably the best series of the revival yet. Or, if you don't do that, at least watch the last 3 episodes. |
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Post by nathan on Apr 25, 2017 22:02:24 GMT -8
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016): I wasn't a big fan of the series before. I watched it on and off and got the story so decided to give this a go. Apart from it not needing to happen (as so many other series' are rebooting) and calling autumn 'fall' it had its moments, although few and far between. What it did in four episodes of ninety-minutes could have been achieved in two hours. Since I didn't remember what happened a decade ago everything was new. Everyone still talks extremely fast and about nothing and Lorelei is still the same. The only one different was Rory. I don't remember her being such an arrogant bitca. She cheated on her nice boyfriend with that dude who was engaged and was only sad about him being engaged. She thought she should just be offered a great job because she had everything else handed to her in the life so why not. I was surprised by just how unlikeable they made her. The cameos were good, especially Sam Winchester pretending to be Dean. And Melissa McCarthy returning and being watchable. The only bad cameo was the Life and Death Brigade.... That whole scene was a nightmare. And the 'last four words' people talked about were technically only two. I don't regret watching it. That is the best mark I can give it. |
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 7:02:53 GMT -8
The first three episodes of The Handmaid's Tale are well-made, well-acted, and a lot less exploitative than they could have been. The show does an outstanding job of setting up its atmosphere and its characters. The flashbacks feel a little disjointed, but I expect they'll make more sense as the season progresses.
The show also has a great sense of dark humor, which alleviates some of the harsher moments. And when it delivers on these harsher moments (like the horrifying scene that ends Episode 3), they feel earned.
I recommend the show, but with caution. If you go in thinking you'll hate it, you will probably hate it. This show is designed to make you feel distressed and uncomfortable. (It just does a better job of it than many other shows in that category.)
...
If you want something a little easier to stomach, the premiere of Mary Kills People is a lot of fun. I just wish Mary would kill more people.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Apr 27, 2017 11:24:22 GMT -8
But is it timely, Jeremy? Yes, it might be "well-made" or even "outstanding," but surely a television critic like you knows that you can't enjoy a television program anymore unless it offers pointed, totally un-redundant critique of the Trump administration.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 14:11:21 GMT -8
Oh, definitely! The show gives you a lot to think about, whether you're a man or a child storage unit.
Seriously, though. I'm honestly disturbed by the number of reviews referring to this series as "timely" and "distressingly relevant." I get that critics need a hook to grab readers, and current events always make for an easy shot, but some of these reviews are even more disturbing than the real-life controversies they allude to.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 27, 2017 15:03:37 GMT -8
That series starts airing on Bravo in Canada on Sunday night. I don't think they're airing three episodes, but they might be airing two. Hard to say, as the first two episodes listed on the schedule guide say the same thing. So it's either the first two, or the premiere airing over and over again, as with shows on AMC and FX.
Hopefully Bledel isn't as "bitchy" here as she apparently was in that Gilmore Girls revival.  |
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 15:19:16 GMT -8
According to Wiki, it's the first two episodes. So they're a week behind the US.
And Bledel is fantastic. Her performance in the third episode may actually be the best work of her career.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 27, 2017 16:26:40 GMT -8
Someone hasn't seen her work in Sin City.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 16:43:07 GMT -8
Indeed. And I never will.
But really, you'll see how amazing it is... especially given her Gilmore Girls background.
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Post by Zarnium on Apr 27, 2017 18:32:17 GMT -8
Oh, definitely! The show gives you a lot to think about, whether you're a man or a child storage unit. Seriously, though. I'm honestly disturbed by the number of reviews referring to this series as "timely" and "distressingly relevant." I get that critics need a hook to grab readers, and current events always make for an easy shot, but some of these reviews are even more disturbing than the real-life controversies they allude to. Given that the book was published in 1985, referring to it as "timely" rather than "relevant 100% of the time" strikes me as a bit of a disservice to the themes involved. Of course, dystopian fiction is rarely interpreted well by the mass media or the public consciousness, as the constant misuse of Orwell's 1984 can attest to. |
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 19:20:28 GMT -8
I haven't read the book, but I know Margaret Atwood has referred to the story as "always being timely." And it is, at least in the metaphorical sense - there's always an underlying fear that somehow, humanity will "go too far." (Pretty much all dystopian fiction stems from that baseline.)
But listening to Every. Single. Review. say that we're living in the prelude to The Handmaid's Tale is just ridiculous. Trump is not the first President who is anti-Planned Parenthood, nor is he the first one to speak degradingly of women. And the religious practice of not dining alone with a woman other than your wife (or, as I hold, not shaking a woman's hand) is not a sign of female oppression.
I know that a lot of political issues are in the air right now. I know that it's always tempting to read real-life parallels in the latest TV and movies. But can't we have rational discussions of these issues without constantly crying "apocalypse"?
/rant
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Apr 27, 2017 19:53:05 GMT -8
And the religious practice of not dining alone with a woman other than your wife (or, as I hold, not shaking a woman's hand) is not a sign of female oppression. Yeah, it's usually just a sign of you being scared by your cute shiksa colleague. |
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2017 20:25:23 GMT -8
Hey, that excuse actually works more than you might think.
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Post by Zarnium on Apr 27, 2017 22:31:11 GMT -8
And the religious practice of not dining alone with a woman other than your wife (or, as I hold, not shaking a woman's hand) is not a sign of female oppression. Well... I feel compelled to point out that no, it isn't, but legally mandating that every single citizen must do so or else face severe punishment is. But yes, I do not like the practice of making a surface-level comparison of current events to a dystopian story and then claiming we're in the end times. Or rather... they're useless if we resist all attempts to compare them to the real world, but making dire proclamations without actually examining the work in question isn't great. A good dystopian story is a lot more nuanced than that, and has lessons that can be applied to many situations, in both good times and bad times. Breaking out the old 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 or other old books with numbers for a title is something that should be done with a little more care than just throwing dirt at someone. |
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